Descriptive Language

Saturday, 14 December 2024

10am-2pm CST

via zoom through the Loft

https://loft.org/classes/descriptive-language-3

Descriptive language is a writer’s most powerful tool for creating what John Gardner called the best fiction—a vivid and continuous dream. Readings and writing exercises will focus on the importance of specificity, how to deftly work with adverbs and adjectives, describing with all five senses, and how to effectively communicate emotion. We will experiment with making the strange familiar and the familiar strange. We will read and discuss excerpts from the work of Philip Levine, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Arundhati Roy, Sarah M. Broom, Mariana Enriquez and Chekhov.

Come prepared to write! Both writers of fiction and nonfiction will leave with a stronger sense of what constitutes excellent writing and how they might achieve it themselves.

Work in Progress

12 weeks / January 22, 2025 – April 9, 2025

Wednesday nights 6-8 p.m. CST

via zoom through the Loft

https://loft.org/classes/12-week-work-progress

Writing is a wonderful vocation, but the effort can be lonely. Come break the isolation! This class is for fiction writers who are looking for artistic camaraderie and would like feedback on a project. The first three weeks, we’ll focus on craft: characterization, story and plot, perspective, voice and dialogue, and world building. Our craft discussions will be grounded in close readings of stories by writers such as Lucia Berlin, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Saunders, and Ha Jin. We’ll experiment with varied writing exercises that strengthen our skills and push us into new territory. Beginning week four, we’ll begin constructive, craft-focused discussions of student work.

Please have a work in progress. Come prepared to write in class, read outside of class, discuss and comment on peers’ work, and engage in lively discussions. You’ll have up to 20 pages of a work in progress, either short story or novel excerpt, read & commented on by the teaching artist and fellow writers. At the end of 12 weeks, participants will have honed their craft, received thoughtful response to their work, and have a clearer sense of how to move forward with their project. Limit of 12 participants.